It’s hard to believe, but the number of women at venture capital firms is going from terrible to worse. However, some resourceful female investors and entrepreneurs are finding creative ways around the roadblocks.

Tired of making cheap toys for Happy Meals, Kate Clark started her own toy company that focuses on characters from classic children’s literature such as Paddington Bear, Babar the elephant and ”The Little Prince.”

The WSJ’s Billion Dollar Startup Club has identified 73 private companies that have been valued at $1 billion or more by venture capitalists. Here are two members of the club. Explore the full list at wsj.com/billionclub.

A new WSJ analysis reveals that 73 private companies are valued at $1 billion by venture-capital investors. Forty eight startups entered the Billion-Dollar Club last year. Eight startups are priced at $10 billion or more.

Women tend to launch businesses with less financing than men and have more difficulty raising funding. But early data suggest that women are outperforming men in raising money via crowdfunding sites, such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo.

Many entrepreneurs are building so-called derivative startups, or businesses pegged to others’ success. At least half a dozen businesses have surfaced pegged to the short-term rental marketplace Airbnb.

Starting a business is a lot like becoming a parent. Not only do you have to prepare for your start-up emotionally and financially, but you have to be committed to its constant needs until it's mature enough to hum along on its own. And even then (much like a child) it will always need you in some capacity, no matter how old it gets.

The improved quality of smartphone cameras has stolen customers from standalone digital cameras, but Fujifilm Holdings Corp. Chief Executive Shigetaka Komori doesn't see the need for consolidation in the camera industry.

France’s Orange is considering launching a bid to tie up with Telecom Italia in a sign that European telecommunications companies are continuing to push forward a wave of consolidation across the region.